Internet Security

Hi all

I use my Macbook Pro and Ipad over wifi and feel I need some internet security (for my pro) to stop people from getting at my card details when buying online (just had a recent issue with this) can anyone recommend a good internet security software to keep my mind at rest. Is there anything for Ipad security to?

Also if i install one would it slow my mac at all?

Thanks

Software can't help with that. Doing business online is something you have to do carefully.

1. Set good passwords on your accounts, starting with your email account (which is where your shopping information is sent) and with every online store you do business with (eg. Amazon, Apple/iTunes...all of them.) If your password can be found in a dictionary, it's not a good password.

2. Do business only with reputable sites. If you don't know that a site is reputable...it isn't.

3. Don't click on links in emails. If you get a message from Amazon, (or Apple, or whoever) type in Amazon's (or Apple's, etc.) site yourself.

4. Always look for the lock icon in your browser before entering sensitive information. If you see error messages, something is wrong and you should not continue.
Safari 5.1 (OS X Lion): Identify secure websites

Do this, and you'll be reasonably safe. Fail to do this, and no software can help you.

If you had an issue with your card details from buying off of a website, that doesn't have anything to do with your software. That is the websites fault. You shouldn't worry about getting a virus on your Mac since they are very rare, but it still could happen, so it is nice to have a since of security when browsing the web. A good antivirus that is free and reliable is iAntivirus.

chas_m said:

Fixed that for you. You're welcome.

Click to expand...

Are you saying there is not one virus what so ever for Macs?

Nope! No viruses at all.

Just a lot of trojans, some web-based exploits now and then, some rootkits (getting better all the time!) and there were a few worms a few years ago.

Doesn't that reassure you?

I make sure that my wireless router has a good password. Run the firewall in os 10.7 in stealth mode. Make sure the settings section for the network is locked. Not fool proof but a help.

As much as possible I try to avoid doing business using wireless connections even when I am at home. There are, of course, times where I cannot avoid this but I try to stick as close to this rule as possible. I also tend to use either private browsing or a guest account just in case I forget to clear confidential information from my system.

Grayw97 said:

Are you saying there is not one virus what so ever for Macs?

Click to expand...

Technologist is correct. No viruses whatsoever.

Malware exists for macs and a lot of people confuse that with viruses but they are different. Luckily malware is a lot less evil than viruses are.

Viruses: exists mainly to search and destroy. They perpetuate and copy themselves from machine to machine without the owner's knowledge or consent. They usually ruin your operating system and in some extreme cases, can even ruin your hardware too. I read one truly extreme case where a person's computer actually caught fire due to a virus. Evidently the virus somehow got the CPU to override the system bios and safety measures and it had everything working above and beyond what it was designed to do. Heat built up and after a while it caught fire. Once a virus takes ahold of your machine, it's EXTREMELY difficult to get rid of. A lot of experts reccommend that if you ever get a computer virus and the antivirus software is ineffective, to just unplug the machine immediately.

Malware: exists usually to make a scammer money. They usually display fake pop up ads but some will log passwords and credit card info and send it back to the scammer. They don't copy themselves across machines but they can install themselves without your knowledge or consent, usually by you opening an email or visiting a questionable website.

There was ONE virus that existed on Macs way back in the days of OS8 or 9 but once OSX came out and took care of that, there has never been another since. The reason viruses don't exist on Macs is kind of up for debate. Viruses usually rely on invading the Windows system registry and telling the computer to do things. Macs on the other hand are Unix based so there is no registry (which is why a lot of apps install by just dragging them to the applications folder). Applications on OSX are what's called "sandboxed" from the rest of the operating system so it's really difficult for an application to affect OSX in any meaningful way.

Others argue that virus don't exist for Macs because Macs only control a small portion of the PC market and it's not worth it to virus developers.

I think it's a combination of both.

technologist said:

Nope! No viruses at all.

Just a lot of trojans, some web-based exploits now and then, some rootkits (getting better all the time!) and there were a few worms a few years ago.

Doesn't that reassure you?

Click to expand...

You're right. I wasn't specific enough. What I meant was malware.